“What was it like here before the war?” Max didn’t look up from the saddle he was polishing but Aria paused in the middle of brushing a large bay stud. They’d never asked what it had been like around here. She hadn’t wanted to know, and she’d assumed the same of Max, but apparently she’d been wrong.
Xavier was thoughtful as his hands folded into the sleeves of his robe. “Peaceful. Braith’s father had chosen this area because it was serene and secluded. He was able to build the palace away from the prying eyes of the higher populated human areas, and the location offered us great security. There were some outlying vampire establishments throughout the world, but some of them came here when it became clear that there would be a war, and the ones that didn’t…”
“Were destroyed,” Aria whispered.
Xavier nodded. “It was a relatively good life here once.”
“It will be again.” Max lifted the saddle and tossed it onto a sawhorse. “Where is here? You’ve told us all these stories of far off lands and countries, of kings and wars and mythologies, but you’ve never really told us about this land. This place. What was it called?”
“Pennsylvania. It was once called Pennsylvania, and it was at one time a part of the United States.”
“Pennsylvania,” Aria found she liked the strange word as she sounded it out. She’d read about the United States in a couple of books, but she’d never heard of Pennsylvania. “Tell us about it,” she encouraged. “All of it.”
Xavier smiled at her as he settled onto a bale of hay and started to regale them. Aria put the brush down as she found herself drawn forward. She settled onto the bale beside him as Max pulled down another saddle and began to polish it. It never failed to amaze her how Xavier remembered all of the things he did, and how astute he was at pointing out details she never would have noticed otherwise. She became so engrossed in his words that she didn’t even notice the sun was setting until Max pointed it out.
“We should head back, I’m starving.”
Aria rose from the bale and wiped the hay from her pants. She followed them out of the stable, pleased by the amount of changes that had already been rendered. Most of the smoke and fire damaged buildings had been torn down and removed, there were already new homes and structures going up. There were smiles and friendly waves from the people and vampires surrounding them, and though complete trust and amicability still hadn’t been solidified, they were already making a good start on a world that Aria had never dreamed of living in.
The massive palace gates that had been battered beyond repair had been taken down. Though they would be replaced, they would also be left open as an invitation for everyone to move freely in and out of the palace town. Most of the blood draining facilities had been destroyed during the battle. The one that remained had been emptied of all devices used to bleed and torture humans and had been reopened as a donation center that seemed to be doing well. Or at least she hadn’t heard of any problems with it, and there were a few people standing outside waiting to go in as they passed by it.
She stayed close to Xavier as they traversed the streets toward the looming palace. The sight of it still caused an uneasy pit to form in her stomach but she was becoming better accustomed to the building. She was gradually finding her place within it, something she never would have thought possible even a week ago.
Tomorrow she’d stop hiding in the stables, she decided. Tomorrow she’d face what she’d been trying to hide from, a world without her father in it. She had to figure out a way to live again in this world without him. She had to figure out her place here, figure out where she fit in; she simply couldn’t avoid it anymore. She could be helpful, she would be helpful. It was what her father would expect of her and she wasn’t going to let him down.
Xavier and Max followed her up to her rooms. They usually ate dinner with her before retreating to their own rooms or going about whatever it was they did at night. William was already waiting for them with a large tray of food when they arrived. It was one of the few times during the day she had a chance to see her brother. He had taken to burying himself in rebuilding homes, even though he was still on crutches. She understood his desperate need not to think, she had the same feeling after all, but she missed him.
She hugged him before grabbing a plate and heaping it with food. She plopped onto the couch and began to eat with a gusto she hadn’t experienced in awhile. It felt good, for once she felt almost alive again, and she welcomed the sensation. “Did you know that this was once Pennsylvania?” Max asked.
“What is a Pennsylvania?” William demanded.
Xavier was more than happy to fill him in as Aria went back for seconds. She wondered if Braith would return to eat with them; most nights he and Daniel were here for dinner but sometimes they didn’t make it in time.
After dinner she retreated to the bedroom with the newest book she’d been reading. She was used to Braith being curled around her before she fell asleep, holding her as she cried, comforting her through her sorrow. After she’d stuffed herself to near bursting though, sleep had dragged her into its deep depths. Now, as the blankets were pulled back and the bedsprings creaked, she was awakened by the pressure of his weight on the mattress.
“Braith,” she whispered.
“Go back to sleep love.”
His arms wrapped around her. She nestled closer to him, pressing her back against his solid chest as her hand stroked over the hair on the corded muscles of his arms. She loved those arms, so different from hers, so protective and strong. Her heart began to hammer, her mouth was dry as a new type of hunger began to stir and awaken within her. She’d shut herself down to him before the war, denied them both because she’d thought she would be leaving, but after her time in the dungeon she knew that she’d been wrong. She didn’t know what would happen in the future, and in that moment she didn’t care, it didn’t matter. All that mattered, all they were guaranteed was the present, and she was going to start living in it.
She could barely catch her breath as something coiled within her belly and spread leisurely through her limbs. She rolled over, turning to face him. The light coming from the slightly open door of the bathroom was dim, but even so she could see the brightness of his gray eyes, the firm planes of his magnificent face and square jaw.
She was unmoving as his fingers traced over her cheeks, pressed briefly against her lips before slipping back to brush her hair aside. “You ate again.”